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Oregon Men Basketball

UO probes players’ eligibility

Michael Dunigan and several other former players are investigated by the school over ‘extra benefits’

By Bob Clark

The Register-Guard

Appeared in print: Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2010, page C1

The eligibility of “former members” of the Oregon men’s basketball team during the past two seasons is under investigation, the school acknowledged Tuesday night.

The UO statement came in response to a query from The Register-Guard, which has been told by sources that Michael Dunigan signed with a professional team in Israel, ending his college career after two seasons, because his eligibility was in question.

The short statement, credited to UO director of athletics Rob Mullens, indicated that the school had obtained information related to the eligibility of the unnamed players this summer and “immediately contacted the (Pac-10) office ... which in turn forwarded the information onto the NCAA for clarification.”

There was no indication how either the conference or NCAA had responded.

A source indicated that the UO believes there is no issue with the eligibility of the nine current scholarship players.

According to sources, the investigation by UO officials came about because of allegations that Dunigan’s eligibility had been compromised by extra benefits provided to him, in violation of NCAA rules. Multiple sources with contacts in the UO basketball program were uncertain about the nature of the alleged benefits or who provided them.

However, all agreed that Oregon was asking questions about the allegations before Dunigan took the unexpected route of signing with the Hapoel Migdal team in Jerusalem.

Dunigan attended summer session classes at the university, and worked out with the Ducks in August in preparation for a foreign tour to Italy. One source indicated that Oregon’s decision to postpone the trip for exhibition games last month, publicly attributed to injuries and a short roster, was at least partially prompted by concerns about Dunigan’s eligibility, with Dunigan being told he might not be allowed to make the trip unless there was a resolution of the eligibility issues.

According to its news release, Oregon contacted the Pac-10 about the eligibility issues on Aug. 2 “upon obtaining information relating to the student-athletes.” The Ducks started practice for the Italy trip on Aug. 12, but announced Aug. 20 that they wouldn’t make the trip.

Asked if Dunigan’s eligibility was in question this summer, UO men’s basketball coach Dana Altman said Tuesday, “I won’t comment on that at this time.”

Dunigan and his mother have not responded to messages left for them since the initial reports that he was turning pro. A phone call to Pearl Dunigan, outlining the nature of this story, was not returned Tuesday.

The UO’s statement did not name players or indicate how many might be involved but made it clear there is a more wide-spread issue than simply Dunigan.

There are nine players who could be described as “former” members of the past two teams, including three who used up their eligibility and six others who transferred to other schools, including four since the past season ended.

In declining to provide more information, the UO cited the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which prohibits schools that receive federal funding from releasing information contained in student records without the consent of the student.

Although the school says the probe involves former players, there could still be liability for the Ducks if it was found that NCAA violations occurred while they were on the team.

The future eligibility of Ducks who transferred could also be in question.

Tai Streets, who ran the AAU program in Chicago that Dunigan played for before college, said he hadn’t recently spoken with Dunigan and was unaware of any eligibility issues.

“Somebody just told me a couple of weeks ago that Michael was talking about going overseas,” Streets said. “I don’t know what’s going on with Michael Dunigan. I don’t know anything about that situation.”

As one of the top-rated big men in the nation as a senior at Farragut Academy in Chicago, Dunigan’s decision to commit to the Ducks, along with friend and teammate Matt Humphrey, was considered a major recruiting victory. The 6-foot-10 Dunigan was a McDonald’s all-American, sought by some of the major programs in the country, and was selected by Gatorade as the player of the year in Illinois after averaging 20 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks per game as a senior.

Oregon has had a fairly heavy exodus of players in the past two years. On the 2008-09 team, Ben Voogd left during the season and Kamyron Brown after the season. Following this past season, when the UO fired Ernie Kent and settled on Altman after an extended search, four more players were lost when Humphrey, Drew Wiley, Josh Crittle and Jamil Wilson left for other college programs. Also during the past two years, Churchill Odia, Frantz Dorsainvil and Tajuan Porter exhausted their eligibility.

Oregon has only nine players on scholarship, four under the NCAA limit for a men’s basketball team.

Only two players on the roster will be taller than 6-6 for Altman’s first season as coach.

Salary figures for Dunigan in Israel were not available, but an American high school player of similar size to Dunigan signed a deal that paid an annual compensation of $140,000.

Oregon has thus far not acknowledged Dunigan’s departure. He was still listed on the team’s official roster Tuesday evening, though the Israeli team announced his signing on its website and Hapoel Migdal lists Dunigan on its roster.

The initial report by a newspaper in Tel Aviv two weeks ago that Dunigan was about to sign with an Israeli team was the first indication that Dunigan might leave Oregon before his junior season.